Peavey 5150 120-Watt Head

“considering i use this almost exclusively as a boost for my Peavey 5150 and Orange Micro Dark”— from the maxon-od808 listing

clean platform takes the driveA clean, high-headroom stage takes on dirt it can't generate by itself. (transparent → high gain)

Goes in front of the amp

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → mid-forward)

Ibanez Tube Screamer takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward

Goes in front of the amp

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)

The dynamic tone has headroom to spare — JAM Pedals Tubedreamer leans it toward compressed to fill it in

Goes in front of the amp

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)

Both lean toward dynamic and compressed respectively — close enough in character that they complement instead of clashing

Goes in front of the amp

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)

Run Dunlop MXR Distortion Plus into that dynamic platform and it finally leans toward compressed

Goes in front of the amp

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → modulated)

Keep ZVEX Instant Lo-Fi Junky after Peavey 5150 120-Watt Head in the signal chain, clear of Peavey 5150 120-Watt Head's own gain stage

Goes in front of the amp

gain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (mid-forward → high gain)

Peavey 5150 120-Watt Head stacks high gain on top of the mid-forward already here

Goes in front of the amp

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Keep Peavey 5150 120-Watt Head's dynamic voice out front: Keeley Halo goes in Peavey 5150 120-Watt Head's effects loop so its ambient voice doesn't muddy it — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Sits in the amp's effects loop